Waterford woman grateful for outpouring of generosity

(The Oakland Press/Vaughn Gurganian)
Katie Stark, 27, of Waterford, with her helper dog Winslow and the wheelchair donated to her by the Shelby Twp. Fire Department, pictured Wednesday July 10, 2013. Stark, who suffers from Cerebral palsy, had her wheelchair go missing while attending a Tigers game at Comerica Park.

Shelby Twp Fire Lt. Inspector Joel Morris came up with idea of donating one of their wheelchairs to Waterford's Katie Stark. Stark had hers taken from Comerica Park on June 22.

The shock came after an afternoon of fun.

Waterford resident Katie Stark, 27 -- who uses a wheelchair, crutches and a walker due to having cerebral palsy from birth -- attended a Detroit Tigers game with friends and family June 22. The group didn't have handicap seating at the game so Stark left her wheelchair where ballpark staff told her to. Stark walked a short distance to her seat using crutches.

When she went back to get the chair after the Tigers' victory, it was gone.

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"I was disappointed," said Stark, who said the family had parked two blocks away.

But then Tuesday, the situation was turned around when the Shelby Township Fire Department donated a new wheelchair.

"I was at a loss for words," said Stark.

It's been an emotional couple of weeks for Stark, an Oakland University master's program student studying counseling.

Right after the wheelchair was taken, Stark's family tried to make contact with Comerica Park to find out if they may have discovered what had happened.

They didn't hear back.

This past Monday Stark decided to contact her favorite TV station, Fox 2, through Facebook about her plight.

Fox responded and ran a story Monday evening about the chair being taken.

"He's a great employee always looking out for other people," said Eddie Vojtush, fire marshal.

"He saw an instance where we could help out. We (firefighters) empathize with people and we are all caregivers but Joel took it to another level."

Morris checked the make and model of Stark's stolen chair, and found one among the fire department's wheelchairs. He made sure it was clean and in good repair, said Vojtush.

Then Morris and Fox 2 staff took the wheelchair over to Stark's home.

Stark said of the moment, "All I could say was thank you."

The loss of the chair has been frustrating for the independent young woman, who drives and is known for being in class on time.

"I'd been wanting to go to the zoo with my nephew and out to the mall, but I couldn't because I had no chair," she said.

Fox 2 reported that many others wanted to provide Stark with assistance. Staff at the Southfield TV station will be giving her a personal tour, and the Shelby Fire Department will be giving Stark and her nephew a ride in one of their vehicles this month.

"I'm thankful for all the responses," said Stark, who lives with her service dog Winslow.

Vojtush noticed something else about Katie Stark.

"She said she didn't want to sit in the wheelchair because wanted to be like every other fan," said Vojtush.

Contact Carol Hopkins at 248-745-4645 or carol.hopkins@oakpress.com. You can also find her on Twitter @waterfordreport or on Facebook @OPcarolhopkins.